As I wrote in my instant react to this episode – which includes a poll to see if everybody sobbed like I did – that scene of everyone gathered in the cemetery to show Alaric he would be missed was staged even more beautifully than Anna’s reunion with Pearl (which also made we weep). Did they steal Esther’s candles, do they keep their own stash in the woods, or did Bonnie bring the ones that magically appeared in the high school when she needed to do a spell at the Roaring ’20s Decade Dance? I don’t even care! It was an unforgettable moment. But let’s back up…

Rebesther fooled Klaus, who’d upped his tortured artist routine from sketches to paintings, into thinking he burned the last remaining stake. She also convinced him to put off leaving town for one more day so she could supposedly attend the dance. Alaric told Damon – over the phone, so Damon couldn’t see his Evilaric eyes – that he was heading out-of-town for a few days because he was still a danger to everyone. That last half was true. Rebesther showed up and had Alaric stab her with an ash-brushed dagger so Esther could return to her own body and Rebekah could go into a coffin.

Before we went further into Esther’s plan, we got to see Caroline in full preparation mode for the dance, yelling at Matt and Jeremy for their hanging of decorations and insisting to Elena that she ask Stefan to the dance because she has to explore her feelings for him as well as for Damon. Elena phoned Stefan and awkwardly invited him to the dance, and it made me flashback to the time I phoned this one guy in high school and my two best guy friends wrote me cue cards. I can’t believe I even allowed them to stay in the room. Stefan accepted, and Damon, of course, overheard the call with his vamp hearing. Damon handled it well enough… because he was off to go surprise Meredith, popping up on her at the hospital like one would expect a vampire to do before attacking you. That was funny. He was really there because he’d gone to see Alaric and found his herb stash, so he knew he was Evilaric. I’m not sure why exactly Damon went to see Meredith. We never saw what she helped him do. Maybe he just wanted to warn her that she could be in danger.

Alaric, meanwhile, went to the Salvatore tomb with Esther, because she needed to channel the energy there. It’s where Klaus ripped her heart out, so her violent death made it a magic hot spot. She explained that the stake, as is, would burn up after killing one Original – unless Alaric allowed her to bind the protective spell on his ring to the stake, thus rendering it indestructible. Convenient, but continue. Alaric gave her the ring, she melted it with magic, and it slithered onto the stake covering it like a web. The ultimate weapon for the ultimate hunter, Esther said. We had no idea…